Odds and Ends

 There  has been a huge whirlwind of activity in this neck of the woods, and I have LOVED every minute of it! We are having such a fantastic time- and here are the pictures to prove it:

 The girls got to go to a Birthday party for Nathan- and it was so great! It was at this incredibly beautiful beach, where we will be going to again tomorrow because I fell in love with it. It feels like a vacation to CA when you are on this beach. The party was a huge blast, and the kids can't stop talking about it and asking for the suckers that were in their goody bags.

 The theme was the movie "Cars" and so they got to make license plates. I think it was great that Audra got to go and hang out with boys- she doesn't get to do that very often. Here you can see the beauty of this place- why did I never go here while growing up?!?

 Here they are playing "Red light, green light." Claire just ran with no concept of what she was supposed to be doing, whereas Audra was playing strictly by the rules: the second it even appeared the light might change to red, she stopped. It was really cute.

 This is my favorite picture- it so perfectly embodies Claire's spirit:

Above is a picture of Claire trying to blow bubbles- she would put the wand all the way onto her chin and it caused her to have a beard.

 Ben and I took our yearly pilgrimage to Redondo- I LOVE that place. It must be my favorite place on earth.

 He is so dang hot! I was so excited when I finally got to go get him from the airport- I almost cried I was so happy to see him. Audra was super cute as well. His flight came in at around 10 PM, so I told Audra she couldn't go and pick him up because it was past her bedtime. She said, "but I really want to go!" in the sweetest voice (not a whiny one, a really precious one). I said, "I'll make you a deal. If you take a really good nap, then you can go." She napped for 4 hours. I let her go.

 Here is a shot of all the cousins with Great Grandma and Grandpa High

Back row: Claire, Alicia, Katie, GGHigh, GGHigh holding Ali, Audra

Front row: Alicia, Aubrey, Hilde holding Makenna, Isaac, Enoch holding Phineas, Tabatha

Priceless!!!

The girls were playing soccer really sweetly outside with their cousins. One would kick the ball and they would all run after it yelling and screaming. I ran in to grab my camera, and came back to this:

 Claire went from super sweet to super mischievous!

Here are Alicia and Audra being sweet:

 Olivia, Tabatha, and Audra

 The girls loved having great grandma and grandpa read to them- and they were kind enough to oblige. I am so thrilled that they were able to meet them. These pictures are very precious to me- what a special time this has been for them to get to know each other. Families are such an incredible blessing, and I have been truly fortunate to have born into such a loving, caring, and amazing family.

Woodland Park Zoo

It seems to be a tradition now to go to the Woodland Park Zoo each time we come into town- and we LOVE it! We even got lucky and scored some free tickets from a friend, so it was even better.

We went with my sister Liss and her three girls and my awesome friend Danielle and her boys.

The weather was perfect and we had a great time.

All the kids needed lots of snacks it turned out.

 Here are Claire and Austin checking out some gorillas. Claire LOVES monkeys- that is all she wanted to see the whole time. She kept saying, "monkey, monkey!" even when we were looking at giraffes.

Great G & G, G & G, the Grandkids, and Christina

Back row: Grandma High, Makenna, Ali, Great Grandma High, Katie, Great Grandpa High, Audra, Grandpa High
Front Row: Christina, Claire, Olivia, Tabatha, Aubrey, Alicia, Isaac

The Bluest Skies You've Ever Seen Are In Seattle

There are some people (mostly people who have never lived in Seattle) who like to complain about the weather in the Emerald City.

Yes, it rains a lot.

Yes, it is overcast and cold on occasion- or often.

But I am convinced that is to weed out the wimps. Because if the weather was always beautiful, people from around the globe would flock to Seattle and never leave.

Some people say Colorado is beautiful, and indeed it does have some beautiful traits. But it has absolutely nothing on Seattle- the most gorgeous place in the world. I have traveled a lot, and nothing compares to what this gem has to offer. 

Yesterday we went with my parents and grandparents to Brown's Point and I was reminded again of why I love this place so much- part of me really wants to move back.

Look how blue the water is- it is unbelievable!

 This is the best shot we could get of Claire, Audra, and myself. Not surprisingly, Claire just wanted to stare at the water- and who could blame her?

 My dad teaching Claire how to throw rocks into the ocean- as if she needed a lesson!

 And here are great grandma and grandpa High with grandma and grandpa and Audra and Claire-

what a blessing to have them in town as well!

It's beautiful and sunny again today. I wish Ben was here so we could go walk along Redondo. Maybe I can get my mom to go with me. That is a walk in Heaven, let me tell you!

Cousins, Cousins, and More Cousins!!

The girls sure do love their cousins- and yesterday we had a great time at a local park.

 It only took Claire about 30 seconds before she was DRENCHED- she took off 

at full speed the second we got there.

 Audra was much more cautious, of course. She barely got her feet wet.

 Audra holding on to Alicia for dear life on the teeter totter.

 Audra pushing Katie.

 Audra and Olivia climbing up the spider web.

 Alicia, Audra, and Olivia on the swing.

 Claire making music while a secret admirer looks on.

 Audra and Aubrey.

Daddy's Note

Today I had Audra send Daddy an e-mail at work. Here is what she wrote:

hhfjhgjhjkjhjkljkhkjhljhkjkhjjkjhljnjnlykljy.lkh

I asked her what it said, and this is what she said it said (in her exact words): "I got a new toy and I'm doing well. Don't you miss me, daddy? I love you very much. I hope you will be a great time seeing me tomorrow. I know that you love me so much. I know that I wish I could play your game and I love you and I hope that you have a great time. OK? I love to see you Sunday and I'm not going to miss you more. I wish I can be a girl again at your game."

She actually went on and on for about another 10 minutes, but I stopped typing.

(The game she is talking about is Lego Star Wars- she and Daddy play that game and Audra LOVES it and asks to play it with him constantly. She always likes to be the girl)

A Day At The Beach

Well, it didn't get into the 90's, or even the 70's, but we still had a great time at the 

beach with some awesome friends!

I love beach pictures- especially the kiddos in contrast to the vast ocean. Here is Audra dipping 

her toes in the water. She insisted it wasn't cold, but it really was a cold day.

 That is a smile, folks!

 I told you it was cold!

Here's the best picture I could get of all four kiddos:

One of the great blessings of my life has been wonderful friends. I have always had amazing friends, and friends who I have had for decades who I am still close to. I am hoping our kids will get

married so we can be family as well! Time will tell...

The Check-Ups

Today was Audra's 4 year-old check up and Claire's 2-year-old check up.

Here are Audra's Stats:
Weight: 36 lb (54%)
Height: 42" (86%)

BMI: 18.8% (85% is considered overweight, so she is doing pretty well!)

Claire's Stats:
Weight: 24 lb (15%)
Height: 34" (42%)

The other day I asked Claire what her name was. She said, "Audra 2." I do not know where she got that from! We have NEVER called her that- I am a middle child, I don't want her having the same complexes I had!

As we were in the car driving to the doctors, Audra asked if she and Claire would have to get shots. I told her I thought Claire would have to get one, but that she wouldn't. So she said, "Claire, you are going to have to get a shot and you are going to cry." I told her not to tell Claire that she would cry and Audra said, "I promise, she will cry!"

The biggest surprise was that the doctor discovered that Claire has a double ear-infection, and a really bad one at that. She said she can't believe that Claire is even able to sleep with it. Well, I guess when you are always fussy, then when you are fussy for a reason nobody knows! (Actually, she hasn't been fussy at all the last few days- I would have never known there was anything wrong)

Claire is starting to tattle on Audra. The other day she went up to Ben and said, "Audra take stroller!" We know this is just the beginning of the sibling rivalries.

Speaking of rivalries, Audra always wants to wear Claire's clothes. It is rather frustrating- you all know Audra has plenty of her own clothes and she doesn't need Claire's clothes. But, she always wants what isn't hers. Sound familiar, anyone?

Let's see...most everything about the girls you already know from this blog- there isn't much else to say. I did want to document their stats, however. So, I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of my two favorite girls: